The government's Green Paper highlights the question of whether tax incentives for pensions could be better targeted. At present, tax relief on pension contributions is offered at the full marginal rate, making the relief of greater value to those on higher incomes who pay at the top rate of...

Ireland is one of the countries most severely affected by the Great Recession. National income fell by more than 10 per cent between 2007 and 2012, as a result of the bursting of a remarkable property bubble, an exceptionally severe banking crisis, and deep fiscal adjustment. This paper examines...

Contents Foreword - Frances Ruane Chapter 1: Monetary Policy and Financial Stability, David Miles Chapter 2: The Stability and Growth Pact: A Fiscal Framework Whose Time Has Come?, Jim O'Leary Chapter 3: Fiscal Policy: Some Lessons from Crises of the Past, Joe Durkan Chapter 4: Restructuring...

An important aspect of the impact of the economic crisis is how pay in the public sector responds - in the face not only of the evolution of pay in the private sector, but also extreme pressure on public spending (of which pay is a very large proportion) as fiscal deficits soar. What are the...

This paper utilises the SWITCH model to carry out a detailed analysis of recent changes in the tax and welfare systems and to evaluate their effects in the light of policy objectives such as those set out in the National Anti-Poverty Strategy and the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness. On the...